Fantasy Forecast for Wednesday, November 4

TUESDAY'S ROUNDUP:

The Flames, winless in their last two games with a total of three goals, will have a new top line for Wednesday's game at Dallas, according to the Calgary Herald. Coach Brent Sutter has reunited struggling scorers Jarome Iginla (12 games, 4-5-9, owned in 99 percent of all Yahoo! leagues) and Olli Jokinen (12, 2-4-6, 83 percent) with Eric Nystrom. "We know both of us haven't been playing as well as we need to play," said Iginla of getting back together with Jokinen. "We've had some success together and we have more ... we can get better. We're both definitely driven and we know we need to be better to help the group."

Other reworked lines had Dustin Boyd centering David Moss and Curtis Glencross, and Craig Conroy flanked by Brandon Prust and Fredrik Sjostrom. The only trio to stay intact was Daymond Langkow, Rene Bourque and Nigel Dawes.

Devils star Patrik Elias has been ruled out of Wednesday's home game against the Capitals, reports the team Web site. Elias returned to practice earlier this week after having groin surgery in September. Elias (91 percent) has yet to play in 2009-10. "It's only two practices he had," coach Jacques Lemaire said. "I think it'll be good he gets a couple more, then we'll see."

NHL.com's Dan Rosen has more on Elias in this report from New Jersey.

Before the decision to wait on Elias was made, the (Newark) Star-Ledger reported on the lines from Tuesday's practice: Zach Parise-Rob Niedermayer-Jamie Langenbrunner; Elias-Travis Zajac-David Clarkson; Nicklas Bergfors-Dainius Zubrus-Brian Rolston; and a fourth line of Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond, Rod Pelley, Ilkka Pikkarainen and Andrew Peters.

The Red Wings were without key defensemen Brian Rafalski and Jonathan Ericsson due to the flu in Tuesday's home shutout of Boston. Detroit's next game is Thursday, hosting San Jose, and both are expected to return.

The Denver Post reported red-hot Avalanche goaltender Craig Anderson finally will sit out a game after 15 consecutive starts to open the season. Backup Peter Budaj (3 percent) will make his season debut Wednesday at home against Phoenix. "(Anderson) has played amazing and he's deserved to get all the starts he has -- and we've been winning games, so it's all good," Budaj said. "I just want to be able to contribute to the team any way I can and hopefully I can get some wins."

Welcome back, Tyler Kennedy (12, 5-3-8, 18 percent). After missing three games with an undisclosed injury, the Penguins forward had 2 assists in Tuesday's win at Anaheim.

Florida's new line of Steven Reinprecht, Nathan Horton and Cory Stillman is going to be a tough test for the banged up Hurricanes in Wednesday's contest. The South Florida Sun Sentinel pointed out the Panthers have scored 13 goals in the past three games -- two more than the previous five games combined -- and during that stretch Reinprecht has 4 goals and an assist, Horton has a goal and 6 assists and Stillman has a goal and an assist.

"That line seems to have some chemistry. They look for each other. They're creating offense. It's nice that we've got a line that is doing that consistently," said coach Peter DeBoer, who also named Tomas Vokoun (2-7-1, 3.28 GAA, 75 percent) as his starting goalie for the game. DeBoer added there's a good chance backup Scott Clemmensen (2-0-0, 4.25 GAA, 12 percent) will play against the Capitals on Saturday.

Need a goalie? Since taking over the Vancouver net from the injured Roberto Luongo, Andrew Raycroft (17 percent) is 3-1-0 with a shutout and only six goals-against. But the opportunities will soon run out, as Luongo is expected back at some point on Vancouver's current road trip, which has five more games to go before winding up Nov. 14.

Phil Kessel's Toronto and season debut was the not the feel-good story Leafs fans and Kessel fantasy owners had hoped for Tuesday. In the 2-1 overtime loss to Tampa Bay, he was scoreless with a minus-1 rating, two penalty minutes and 10 shots in 23:50 of ice time, 8:57 of which came on the power play. "I felt pretty good out there," Kessel (83 percent) told the Globe and Mail. "The hands weren't there, though. I had a lot of chances tonight and I've got to bury those."

Stud fantasy defenseman Shea Weber will be lost to the Predators for two weeks after blocking a shot with his left foot last Saturday during a 4-2 win against Dallas. "It hurt pretty bad," Weber (13, 5-4-9, 97 percent) told the Tennessean. "I managed to finish the second and played a shift in the third. I just knew it wasn't good." Weber leads Nashville with 5 goals, including 3 on the power play. The rest of the team combined has 3 power-play goals.

Fantasy owners of Mike Modano (1, 0-0-0, 5 percent) will get the Dallas center back for Wednesday's game against Calgary, according to the Dallas Morning News. He has not played since opening night due to a rib injury.

Wednesday's game at New Jersey will be the fifth time in five seasons the Washington Capitals play without Alex Ovechkin (14 games, 14-9-23, 99 percent), and the third time he has missed a game due to injury. The Capitals are 1-3-0 without Ovechkin, currently week-to-week with an upper-body strain. However, the Capitals are 4-0-4 in their last eight games against the Devils, their longest stretch without a regulation loss against New Jersey since an eight-game win streak from Nov. 30, 1985 to Dec. 9, 1986.

Meeting with reporters Tuesday, Ovechkin said he'd like to return to action this coming weekend. "I'm going to try, but you never know how it's going to be," he told the Washington Post. "It's still the same. No better, no worse; still the same."

WEDNESDAY'S PROJECTED GOALIES:

N.Y. Islanders (Martin Biron) at Buffalo (Ryan Miller), 7 p.m. ET
Washington (Semyon Varlamov) at New Jersey (Martin Brodeur), 7 p.m. ET (RIS)
San Jose (Evgeni Nabokov) at Columbus (Steve Mason), 7 p.m. ET (NHLN-US)
Carolina (Cam Ward) at Florida (Tomas Vokoun), 7:30 p.m. ET
Calgary (Miikka Kiprusoff) at Dallas (Marty Turco), 8:30 p.m. ET (TSN)
Phoenix (Ilya Bryzgalov) at Colorado (Peter Budaj), 9 p.m. ET

RECENT INJURIES:

Donald Brashear, LW, N.Y. Rangers:   Is day-to-day with a wrist injury.
Daniel Briere, C, Philadelphia:   Is day-to-day with a groin strain.
Matt D'Agostini, RW, Montreal:   Is day-to-day with a head injury.
Nikita Filatov, LW, Columbus:   Is day-to-day with a back injury.
Simon Gagne, LW, Philadelphia:   Is out 6-8 weeks following hernia surgery.
Hal Gill, D, Montreal:  Is day-to-day with a leg injury.
Michael Grabner, RW, Vancouver:   Sidelined indefinitely with an ankle injury.
Ron Hainsey, D, Atlanta: Is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.
Patrick Lalime, G, Buffalo:   Is day-to-day with a groin injury.
Georges Laraque, RW, Montreal:   Is day-to-day with a back injury.
Enver Lisin, RW, N.Y. Rangers:   Is day-to-day with a foot injury.
Johnny Oduya, D, New Jersey:   Is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Alex Ovechkin, RW, Washington: Is week-to-week with an upper-body strain.
Eric Staal, C, Carolina:   Is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury.
Shea Weber, D, Nashville:   Is day-to-day with a foot injury.

TRANSACTIONS:

Buffalo Sabres: Recalled G Jhonas Enroth from Portland (AHL).
Carolina Hurricanes:   Assigned D Jay Harrison to Albany (AHL).
Columbus Blue Jackets: Recalled C Derek MacKenzie on an emergency basis from Syracuse (AHL).
Detroit Red Wings:   Recalled D Doug Janik from Grand Rapids (AHL).
Minnesota Wild:   Reassigned G Anton Khudobin to Houston (AHL).
Montreal Canadiens:   Recalled D Mathieu Carle from Hamilton (AHL).
Nashville Predators:   Recalled F Andreas Thuresson from Milwaukee (AHL).
Phoenix Coyotes:   Recalled F Mikkel Boedker from San Antonio (AHL).
Washington Capitals:   Recalled C Mathieu Perreault from Hershey (AHL). Assigned C Keith Aucoin to Hershey (AHL).

NHL.COM EXPERTS LEAGUE:

Week 5 results through Nov. 3
Code Monkeys 5, Rocky Trottier 2 (4 ties)
Skoula Hard Knocks 6, Out on a Dan Hinote 4 (1 tie)
No Shanahan-igans 4, Clown Shoes 3 (4 ties)
Hempstead Slowpokes 5, The Birdcage 4 (2 ties)
Ovi's Heroes 7, Big Skillets O'BKLYN 3 (1 tie)
Philly Cheesestakes 7, Hammerhead United 3 (1 tie)

E-MAIL OF THE DAY:

Hey Forecaster,
Just want to get your quick opinions on a trade that could be made within the next week. One team trades Joe Thornton and Bobby Ryan for Jeff Carter and Marian Hossa. Based on current circumstances and such, who do you think will win the trade by the end of the season? It's obvious that the team that receives Thornton and Ryan wins immediately, but do you think Hossa would be able to make up for what is lost between now until he comes back? Hossa will be, undoubtedly, put on the IR spot for now, and another player can be picked up to accumulate stats. So if the team that receives Hossa manages to keep up with Bobby Ryan's stats until Hossa returns, will Hossa be able to outperform Ryan for the rest of the season? I also think it's fair to say that Thornton will have more points than Carter. What do you think?
Thanks so much!
-- Nathan

This is as challenging a question as I can recall, for a few reasons. 1) Ryan is underperforming; 2) Thornton is a point producer and Carter a goal scorer; 3) Will Hossa be Hossa after returning off-season shoulder surgery?

Earlier this week, Hossa participated fully in practice, as a center no less, the Chicago Tribune reported. Hossa was in the middle because the Hawks needed an extra body there with Jonathan Toews out with a concussion.

"It's getting there, but I don't have the power in the (right) arm yet," said Hossa, who is expected to make his season debut late in November. "The good thing is if I push it there's no pain."

Hossa stated the target date is around Nov. 25, meaning he would miss 22 games. To give an example of what he's capable of doing in a shortened season, I'll point to 2007-08, when he played the first 60 games with Atlanta before being dealt to Pittsburgh and he totaled 26-30-56 before the trade. The big difference in the current situation is he began the season healthy, as opposed to working his way back into shape following in-season rehab. In my season preview I projected 29-27-56 in 57 games for Hossa, and I'm sticking to that.

Through 13 games, Ryan is on pace for 25-25-50, but he's too good to finish with such mediocre totals. Even given his current struggles, I say he reaches at least 30 goals and 62 points. So my belief is Hossa and Ryan will be quite similar, statistically speaking.

Carter easily can score 45 goals and double Thornton in that category, and both have 90-point potential.

Through 15 games, Thornton is on pace for 16-87-103. Based on his first 12 games, Carter would finish with 41-54-95.

Goals are harder to come by and give Carter a bit more value than Thornton, and that's what sways this trade in favor of the owner who gets Carter and Hossa.

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